Companies with water expertise are in great demand following one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history. In response, pollution control companies are offering their assistance and products to the sweeping aid effort.



With millions of people still in danger from the after-effects of the tsunami that ravaged South Asian and African coastlines on Dec. 26, many companies in the pollution control industry have pledged their much-needed services to aid the stricken countries.

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C Tech Giving What They've Got

C Tech Development Corp., Huntington Beach, Calif., recently announced a grant program valued over $250,000 to supply the company's Earth science software to those working to repair the region's shattered water infrastructure.

"Our software is used throughout the world for analysis and visualization of complex issues such as water resources, environmental contamination, and ocean monitoring," said C Tech CEO Reed D. Copsey, Sr. "In the wake of the tsunami, all of us at C Tech want to ensure that our software is available to researchers assisting the affected countries. To that end, we are establishing a grant program to provide free and reduced cost licenses of our software to organizations directly working on issues related to this tragedy."

The purpose of the grant program is to provide software to researchers and organizations located in or working with the stricken areas to help address human and environmental health issues related to the disaster and to aid in the infrastructure restoration. Visit www.ctech.com.

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ITT Ready to Step Up

Meanwhile, ITT Industries is donating clean water, purifying equipment, funds and expertise to some of the areas hardest hit by the killer waves, in addition to providing a massive - $500,000 - donation of financial aid to the global humanitarian effort. The funds will be sent to agencies working on a global basis to support the huge relief effort now underway throughout southern Asia and east Africa.

In the immediate wake of the tsunami, ITT Industries executives and personnel from the company's Fluid Technology business unit began working around the clock with international and local agencies to ensure that this water purification equipment would be sent to locations where they can do the most good. A number of company representatives volunteered to travel to the impacted areas and serve as support personnel.

The company is currently preparing 60 portable ST1 water treatment units for delivery to the disaster area. Combined, they are capable of treating more than 100,000 gallons of water every hour. The units are diesel powered - enabling them to operate in the many areas that are without electricity. Most importantly, they provide the level of treatment necessary to combat waterborne diseases such as cholera and giardiasis.

ITT Industries also plans to ship gas-fed chlorinators to relief organizers operating in the region.

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Zenon Bringing Water to Stricken Nations

Zenon Environmental, Oakville, Ontario, is spearheading a drive to send its Homespring units to provide clean, safe water to victims of the disaster in India and Sri Lanka. In a combined initiative through the assistance of Eureka Forbes, a pioneer and leader in water purification systems in India (www.eurekaforbes.com), and World Vision (www.worldvision.ca), an international relief and development organization and its partners on the ground, Zenon will initially donate 54 of its Homespring water filtration units to support relief efforts in Asia.

The units, which makes water biologically safe for consumption by physically removing suspended solids, viruses, parasites and bacteria, will be installed in Sri Lanka and India where there is a high and critical need for clean and safe water. These include relief camps, schools and other community locations. Eureka Forbes has taken on the responsibility of servicing and maintaining the units to ensure continued safe drinking water to people in the area.

World Vision, an international Christian relief and development organization, will provide its expertise in identifying those areas most in need as well as coordinate the logistics of transporting the units on the ground. For those units that are installed in temporary relief camps, these will be moved to other areas where there is a continued need, such as schools, old age homes, etc. and will not be sold commercially.

Clean water is critical to the victims' survival at this point. According to the World Health Organization, the average physically active adult consumes approximately four litres (one gallon) of water per day. As each Homespring water filtration unit can potentially produce up to 27,000 litres of water per day (7,000 gallons) depending on water quality, the 54 units being provided by Zenon are capable of providing safe drinking water to over 350,000 people.

"We are committed to helping find water treatment solutions to the relief efforts in the region," said Andrew Benedek, company chairman and CEO. "Our participation in this initiative reinforces our positioning to solve real world problems and, as our logo says, provide 'water for the world.'"

"Providing water is an integral part of World Vision's relief efforts," said Marilyn Friedmann, vice president of donor development for World Vision Canada. "This partnership with Zenon supports more than World Vision's relief effort, it supports reconstruction and will allow us to make significant inroads with the rehabilitation of municipal water supplies."

In addition to the company's donation of filtration systems, its larger water purification systems, currently employed by the Canadian Army, will be deployed by the country's Disaster Assistance Relief Team (DART). ZENON continues to seek out initiatives to further assist tsunami and earthquake victims in Asia. Vist www.zenon.com.

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Siemens Providing Water Equipment

USFilter, a Siemens company, is providing drinking water treatment units to regions of Southeast Asia ravaged by the recent Tsunami. The company's Memcor group, working with Siemens Thailand office and Loxley Public Company, its distributor in Thailand, plans to contribute seven treatment units, which utilize the company's membrane and disinfection technology. The units are capable of converting raw water into water fit for drinking and other potable uses. Each has a capacity to produce 100 cubic meters (26,400 gallons) of clean water a day.

USFilter is building six of the units on a fast-track schedule at its Memcor manufacturing plant in Windsor, Australia. According to plant manager Bruce Biltoft, the first of the units is scheduled for shipment to Thailand by January 25. All should be shipped by February 8. The seventh unit is already located in Thailand where it was being prepared as a demonstration unit prior to the Tsunami. As soon as it is tested and commissioned, it will be re-located to the disaster area.

"Siemens is providing extensive aid to the victims of the catastrophic tsunamis in Asia," said Siemens CEO Heinrich v. Pierer. "In addition to launching employee donation drives throughout the world, Siemens is focusing on providing local disaster relief. The company is using its local presence in the affected countries to quickly deliver targeted aid. This way, help is reaching the places where it is needed the most."

Once the water treatment units are in Thailand, Siemens and Loxley will fit them out with ancillary components - such as covers or piping - that may be required depending on where the units will be deployed. At this moment, the companies are working in parallel to have all necessary components available so that final assembly, installation and operation of the units can occur as rapidly as possible, Biltoft said.

The units being built for disaster relief are stand-alone, transportable and contain membrane barriers, which filter out even the smallest microscopic contaminants. They will be coupled with disinfection technology from USFilter's Wallace & Tiernan group. Visit www.usfilter.com/water/About+USFilter/tsunami_effort.htm

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WEF Contributes $25,000 to Long-Term Rebuilding Efforts

The Alexandria, Va.-based Water Environment Federation's (WEF) Board of Trustees approved a $25,000 special contribution to Water for People (WFP), an international nonprofit development organization. The donation will support the organization's efforts to respond to calls for assistance in the long-term rebuilding of water and sanitation infrastructures in areas of Southeast Asia and India.

In addition to the contribution, a group of international water quality non-governmental organizations and professionals, including WEF and WFP, have been collaborating to share expertise and minimize duplication of efforts in response to the crisis. Individuals, businesses, utilities and organizations from the drinking water and sanitation community have come forward to offer volunteer assistance, donations of equipment, supplies and financial support.

"The rebuilding needs of those areas devastated by the tsunami are enormous and require the support of our entire community," added WEF Executive Director Bill Bertera. "The water sector working together and coordinating activities will have a positive outcome in this effort and will set a precedent for meeting future water-related and public health challenges."

Other collaborating organizations include: the American Water Works Association, Water Quality Association, Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, National Association of Water Companies, Association of Metropolitan Sewerage Agencies and the International Water Association.

To view current information about the crisis, volunteer opportunities or to donate to WFP's long-term efforts, visit www.waterforpeople.org or e-mail WFP's Tsunami Response coordinator at tsunami@waterforpeople.org.

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Recovery Grant from GAEA Technologies

GAEA Technologies is offering a software grant program of $100,000 to be used for recovery in the tsunami stricken areas of South Asia

Working ensure that its software is available to engineers and researchers assisting in the recovery effort in the affected countries, the grant program will provide free licenses to organizations working on the recovery effort, providing a total of $100,000 in free software licenses with a limit of $5,000 per application.

Organizations wishing to apply for a grant under the program should e-mail the following information to mfraser@gaea.ca:

1. Name, address, phone number, and e-mail address of the organization
2. The name and number of copies of the software applied for
3. A brief description of the organization
4. How the software will be used in the tsunami recovery effort
5. The organization's experience in this type of work
6. The resources that will be applied by the organization in the recovery effort

The grant applications will be reviewed and awarded immediately upon approval. This grant program will remain open until all of the software licenses have been awarded. For more information, visit www.gaea.ca PE